The theory of an infinite world—eventually, I had no choice but to explain the concept the administrator had told me about to Eriri.
"So, what you're saying is… this theory states that the worlds are infinite, and that means there's a high chance every story created in one world could exist as a real world in another reality?" Eriri asked, her tone cautious as she tried to piece together my explanation.
"Unfortunately, that's exactly the case," I replied with a nod. "And that's the main reason I was chosen as a moderator here—to work with the people of this world to save it from destruction. The truth is, I have knowledge about the various protagonists and heroines in this world, and that knowledge is crucial. The energy you and the other heroines possess attracts miasma and chaos, destabilizing the balance of this world. Left unchecked, it could collapse entirely."
Eriri let out a short, almost bitter laugh, brushing her bangs aside as she leaned back into the sofa.
"Ahahaha… So you're telling me my world is full of protagonists and heroines, and that's why it's unstable, which causes these invaders called 'miasma' to target us. And you… you're supposed to help us train, get stronger, and stabilize the world to protect ourselves. Ahaha… It's such an insane premise…" she muttered, sitting like a boxer who'd just gone all twelve rounds.
"Yeah… wait… if I'm hearing this correctly, then that means…" She paused, her eyes narrowing as she pressed her palm against her forehead. "You're from another world—a world where we, the heroines, are just fictional characters, right?"
"Yep," I said simply. "Although here you're all real people, in my world you're just characters in anime and light novels. And honestly, it's possible that me and everyone in my world are just fictional characters to someone else as well…"
At that, Eriri went quiet, her sharp blue eyes glimmering with a mix of disbelief and reluctant fascination.
"Ah… I didn't expect to meet someone who actually experienced an isekai. So—you're dead?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly as she looked at me with a complex expression. There was fear, confusion… but also a hint of curiosity and excitement.
"That's right," I admitted with a small, self-deprecating smile. "I died in my world and somehow got a second chance in yours. Ahahaha… So, I hope we can work well together." I tried to lighten the mood, but my awkward laugh only seemed to make her expression more complicated.
"That might be tough…" she muttered, folding her arms.
"Well, for me, life was already tough. Having a second chance—even if it's weird like this—isn't so bad," I replied, scratching the back of my head.
"Is that so…" Eriri murmured, taking several deep breaths as if trying to calm her nerves. She even closed her eyes for a moment, probably organizing her thoughts. After all, she had just been told by a complete stranger that he was a dead guy from another world who somehow knew everything about her life.
As we talked, I tried to ease her mind by sharing small bits of harmless information about her and her friends. From her reactions, I gathered that the Eriri of this world hadn't met Megumi Kato yet, though she was aware that Utaha had some kind of romantic interest in Tomoya.
"I get the impression that this version of Eriri is living just a few days before the anime's story begins…" I muttered under my breath, realizing how early I had arrived in her timeline.
Then, without warning, Eriri leaned closer, her serious gaze locking onto me.
"Then… who's winning?"
"Eh?" I blinked, completely caught off guard.
"You heard me," she said sharply. "Who wins in the end!?"
"Wait, wait—what are you talking about?" I tried to play dumb, but the intensity in her stare could have pierced armor.
"The winner! Between us! Between me, Utaha, and whoever else that girl is!" she shouted, her tone more desperate than angry.
I sighed, realizing what she meant. "No, no, listen—what happens in my world is just fiction. The anime and the light novel are just stories. None of that has happened here yet, which means the ending hasn't been written in this world. So… I don't know who wins."
Eriri squinted at me, clearly unconvinced. "You do know, don't you?"
"I mean… technically, there are spin-offs too, so you could say everyone wins in their own way," I tried to deflect, forcing a nervous smile.
But Eriri's expression sharpened. Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she leaned forward, her aura darkening like a final boss preparing to strike.
"So… who won in the anime? And in the light novel?" she demanded. The question wasn't really a question—it was an interrogation punctuated by pure emotion.
"W-Well… that's…"
Her face twisted in realization before I could finish. "Ugh! It's that girl, isn't it!? That boring girl I don't even know about yet! Megumi Katooooo!!" she screamed, her voice echoing dramatically through the room.
If she'd been holding a handkerchief, she would've bitten it like a frustrated villainess from a shoujo manga. Her twin tails swayed furiously as she stomped her foot, muttering something about "plot favoritism" and "author bias."
It took several minutes before Eriri's tantrum finally ended.
"Fuuu… So what should we do next?" Eriri let out a long sigh before throwing me the question.
"Well… I think we were supposed to get a message from the system about our next step, but it seems like the system's giving us some time to get to know each other first." I replied to her question—just before a system message appeared in front of both of us.
[ Congratulations, Eriri has joined the group. The [Party], [Mission], [Personal Room], and [Shop] features have now been unlocked. Please feel free to explore them at your own pace. Beware that every announcement made by the System can be seen by all group members. ]
After that message finished, I noticed two new doors had appeared in the living room, each labeled with the name of its personal room owner.
[ This is the first time Eriri has joined the group, so the world is currently frozen for tutorial mode. After this, every time she joins the Multiverse VR, the world will run in normal mode. Please be careful. You need to level up to the next level to unlock more features. ]
[ Tutorial mode has a time limit. 1 hour remaining. ]
"Eh, really!? I want to try other stuff!" Eriri protested.
"Aahaha, looks like they want us to get on with our first mission quickly," I replied with a wry smile.
"Grrrr… can't they be a bit nicer to us? We're trying to save the world here! Look, even though we have a shop feature, we can't buy anything because we have no money!" Eriri complained while puffing her cheeks, clearly frustrated.
"And in the party feature…" I scrolled through the interface projected in front of me.
Leader: Adicipta Perkasa
Member: Eriri Spencer Sawamura
"We can only see names, online status, messages, and calls. Huh…" I said with a sigh.
"Like an MMO game, right?" Eriri commented, tilting her head as if she was trying to find something interesting on the floating screen.
[ Starting the Journey of Adventure!
Leveling up in a steady manner requires adventure, fighting monsters, increasing your stats, becoming stronger, and gaining many skills.
There's no better place than a dungeon as a starting point! Join Orario and try reaching floor 5.
Reward:
1000 Credits
100 EXP
3 Random Skills ]
I never would've guessed that our very first mission would throw us straight into the world of Danmachi.